Meta, YouTube face trial over children harm
Opening statements in the first trial began in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where Instagram parent company Meta and Google’s...
Geostrategy
UK withdraws Tehran embassy staff as Trump weighs Iran strikes; JD Vance says “no chance” of long war
Reports suggest some of Trump’s advisers would prefer Israel to initiate any strike, calculating that American public opinion would be...
Geostrategy
Geostrategy
Assailant takes hostages in Gaza protest in Turkey, says police
ISTANBUL, TURKEY - An assailant on Thursday took a number of people hostage at a plant owned by US cosmetics giant...
- A union representing workers at the consumer goods plant said the assailant was holding seven people hostage.
- The man was standing next to a drawing of the Palestinian flag and the words "for Gaza" painted on the wall in red.
Geostrategy
US to sell drones worth $4bn to India to bolster its defenses against China
The United States approved a $4 billion sale of state-of-the-art drones to India, offering a new edge to the growing...
- Indian officials had discussed the drones during a state visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year.
- After months of discussion, the State Department said it had informed Congress of the sale..
Geostrategy
Indian authorities tear down 600 year-old mosque in Delhi
New Delhi, India - Bulldozers have knocked down a centuries-old mosque in India's capital, a member of the building's managing committee...
- The Masjid Akhonji in New Delhi, which its caretakers say is around 600 years old, was home to 22 students enrolled in an Islamic boarding school
- It was torn down on Tuesday in a forest of Mehrauli, an affluent neighborhood dotted with centuries-old ruins from settlements predating modern Delhi
Geostrategy
Saudi Arabia not part of BRICS yet, still considering invite: Report
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia remains undecided on accepting the BRICS bloc's invitation to join, despite initial claims of...
- South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor's recently asserted the kingdom's membership, but a Saudi official told Reuters the Kingdom has not yet responded to the invitation.
- BRICS had extended membership offers to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Iran, Argentina, and Ethiopia last August.
Geostrategy
Mediators push for Gaza truce as UNRWA warns its activities may stop
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said that "if the funding remains suspended, we will most likely be forced to shut down...
- UN rights experts voiced alarm at soaring numbers of journalists killed in the Gaza war, decrying an apparent "deliberate" Israeli strategy to silence critical reporting.
- 119 people were killed in the latest night of Israeli strikes; "There is a massacre taking place right now," said Leo Cans of international aid group Doctors Without Borders.
Business
OPEC+ panel reaffirms cartel’s current output reduction strategy
In an effort to shore up prices, the OPEC+ oil alliance of 23 nations has implemented supply cuts of more...
- In a statement following a meeting via videoconference, the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) of OPEC+ stopped short of making any recommendations on its output policy.
- However, the panel said it "reviewed the crude oil production data for the months of November and December 2023", noting the "high conformity" among participating nations.
Business
Spain urges WTO meet in UAE to address de-globalization
ABU DHABI, UAE - Madrid wants the upcoming 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) here next...
- The ministerial meeting (MC13) will convene representatives of 164 nations and trading blocs.
- MC13 will seek key reforms to the global trading system, including expanding WTO membership .
Geostrategy
Creeping war threatens Sudan’s eastern border
Sudan's nine-month-old war has so far largely spared the country's east. But with the frontline inching ever closer, and reports...
- In recent months, the RSF's push into Al-Jazira state, southeast of the embattled capital Khartoum, has given it access to roads leading further east
- The port city is Sudan's lifeline for crucial aid during the war that, according to the United Nations, has uprooted around 7.6 million people
Biden to visit Michigan as Arab American anger over Gaza grows
The trip comes days after the Democratic incumbent's campaign manager traveled to the city of Dearborn -- home to the...
- The White House has made clear that Thursday's trip is purely a campaign visit, and Biden's 2024 team has said that he will meet with members of UAW union in the Detroit area
- On Wednesday a group of Dearborn organizations called for ceasefire in Gaza and the city's mayor, Abdullah Hammoud refused to meet with Biden's campaign manager
Geostrategy
US targets Houthi and Iranian drones in fresh strikes
CENTCOM earlier announced that the USS Carney had shot down an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthis, and then...
- A US warship also shot down an anti-ship missile fired by the Houthis
- American forces also destroyed a Houthi surface-to-air missile on Wednesday
Meta, YouTube face trial over children harm
Opening statements in the first trial began in Los Angeles County Superior Court, where Instagram parent company Meta and Google’s...
Geostrategy
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Trump announces 100% chip tariff, pressuring Asian producers
The US president unveiled the levy at the White House on Wednesday ahead of the imposition of sweeping tariffs on...
Economy
Electric ‘air taxis’ could debut in Japan from 2027
Tokyo, Japan -- Airline ANA said Thursday that, together with a US start-up, it hopes to have electric "air taxis"...
Business
Tourists drawn to Oman’s giant sinkholes
The sinkholes are marketed as a tourist attraction in Dhofar, whose temperate climate draws many visitors from the Gulf during...
Geostrategy
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Geostrategy
Only 1.5% of Gaza farmland usable, reveals latest satellite survey published by FAO
The survey, which dates from July 28, found that 8.6 percent of Gaza's farmland was accessible, but only 1.5 percent,...
- In its previous survey, published at the end of May, the FAO had indicated that less than five percent of Gaza farmland was both accessible and undamaged
- The Israeli offensive has killed at least 61,158 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry, which are considered reliable by the UN
Geostrategy
Israel bars Jerusalem’s top Muslim cleric from Al-Aqsa: lawyer
Israeli authorities have banned Jerusalem's top Muslim cleric from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound for six months over a recent...
- Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, will be prevented from entering the holy site in the Israeli-annexed Old City until January 2026, according to lawyer Khaldoun
- Hussein's lawyer said that the ban was due to a Friday sermon the mufti gave at Al-Aqsa -- Islam's third-holiest site -- in late July, "which contained nothing inappropriate."
Geostrategy
Full occupation of Gaza looms as Israel orders army to execute any decision
The Israeli press, citing officials, has predicted an escalation of operations, including in densely populated areas where hostages are believed...
- Media reports in Israel have said Netanyahu and his cabinet may order a full military occupation of Gaza, allegedly sparking dissension from armed forces chief Lt Gen Eyal Zamir.
- On Tuesday, Netanyahu held a three-hour meeting with security chiefs including Zamir to discuss options for the continuation of the war, the premier's office said in a statement.